Anthony d'Offay.
Interview with d'Offay
Art in Europe was much different than what was going on in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. Anthony d'Offay was a British art dealer who closed down his dealership in 2002. This shocked everyone, especially in the art world. D'Offay represented well-known artists like, Joseph Beuys, Christian Boltanski, Gerherd Richter, Gilbert and George, Richard Long, Jeff Koons, Richard Hamilton and several others. During the 1990s, d'Offay was representing the young British artists.
When he decided to sell the store, he also had to rid of the art. The art was valued at over 100 million Euros. However, he only sold it for about 26.5 million Euros, just about what he paid for all of it. How crazy. What is even more crazy is the way in which the public responded to his announcement of the closing of his art dealership and further, his retirement. Luckily, he didn't retire and was working with an exhibition in Europe, Artist Rooms.
An excerpt from an article about d'Offay:
D’Offay last year sold 725 postwar and contemporary works to the nation at the price he paid for them, forgoing an estimated profit of some 100 million pounds ($165 million). He bought them for 26.5 million pounds and they were valued last year at 125 million pounds. His proviso: that they tour the country, giving under-18s easy access to recent art.
“Museums in this country are free, which is a great gift to the British people, but they have no money with which to buy,” says d’Offay. “If I’m able to help to improve the collections in this country, then I feel like a good guy.”
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